As a world leader in high-performance and advanced materials research, NETL’s Crosscutting High Performance Materials Program presents the Regional Work Force Initiative (RWFI) Energy 101 Series, which shares how the Lab’s work and expertise translates to savings and benefits for industry and the local economy.

The Lab’s Crosscutting High Performance Materials Program enhances the nation’s industrial high-temperature materials supply chain by accelerating the development of improved steels, superalloys, and new advanced manufacturing methods. NETL also assists in completing full-scale manufacturing trials of power plant components, along with creating solutions to address challenges for both the existing fleet and future power systems. The program spans several areas of research such as Computational Materials Design, Advanced Structural Materials, Functional Materials for Process Performance and Advanced Manufacturing, and seeks to solve various costs and challenges faced by multiple industries.

“NETL has some of the world’s best minds dedicated to increasing energy efficiency working across these disciplines,” said NETL’s RWFI Federal Coordinator Anthony Armaly. “With enhanced efficiency comes cost savings to both industry and the average consumer. Our open webinar will detail these high-performance and advanced materials and NETL’s work to improve and proliferate them. The webinar will also go over how these materials save energy while creating new opportunities for economic growth.”

Beyond energy efficiency, the Lab’s Crosscutting Materials work also supports the development of new innovations for the high-temperature materials supply chain. These improvements are vital for extending the service lives of the nation’s power plant fleet with new equipment to function in extreme temperatures, high as 760 degrees Celsius in some cases. With better materials to make boilers, turbines, and superheater systems, power plant operation can remain consistent with less maintenance time and lower costs.

The usefulness of these materials extends beyond use in fossil fuel-based power generation. High temperature metals and alloys are employed in many other high-tech applications, such as civilian and military aircraft engines, drills for use in extreme environments, damage-resistant coatings, and even spacecraft, to name a few.

The upcoming Energy 101 webinar will highlight how these materials can make an impact in regional industrial development and job growth. Scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon April 7, 2020, the webinar agenda is as follows:

While participation in the webinar is free, those who wish to participate are asked to register in advance.

About the Energy 101 Series
The NETL RWFI Energy 101 Series provides a basic primer on the research and development conducted at NETL. Researchers at the Lab present information on their work in an easy-to-follow and thus easy-to-communicate fashion. Discussion topics include the potential economic and work force development opportunities that successful research into these topics and their related challenges.